YOU NEVER TOUCHED MY SOUL (a poem of defiance to my father)   My intellect, wrung like a worn-out cloth hangs limp upon the washing line, My body too, abused by you remembers in ways I cannot, the imprint of trauma unfettered by time, My brain is a labyrinth in outer space, my mind a galaxy in motion, the collision of worlds, juxtaposed on my face and memories devoid of emotion You touched my heart, you touched my head; you touched my body and my bed yet I proclaim though young or old You never managed to touch my soul. Anger paces the length of his cage A primordial instinct They say that rage Is blind,- like love Not so I say,- We see it all The drama and the curtain call But blindness yes from you to me and deafness too How hard I fought to guard my soul You do not know me, shall not see The damage you have wrought You touched my heart, you touched my head; you touched my body and my bed ~ yet I proclaim though young or old You never managed to touch my soul.     Copyright © Elysha Newland 1999